


Fin.

by Happenstance_and_Balderdash



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Angst, Gen, Grief, Ignis' POV, Post Battle, could be Ignoct but not necessarily, the death warned for happens before the fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-10
Updated: 2018-05-10
Packaged: 2019-05-05 00:12:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14604852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Happenstance_and_Balderdash/pseuds/Happenstance_and_Balderdash
Summary: The final battle comes to a close.  Success comes at a high cost.  Too high.





	Fin.

**Author's Note:**

> I couldn't get this out of my head. I apologize in advance.

Injuries were piling up and curatives running low, but Ignis had no intention of letting up and he knew it was the same for the others.  He had no idea how long they had been in battle, only that countless daemons had fallen and yet more continued to come in fresh waves of bloody fury.  A sharp grinding pain along the length of his left arm had him reaching for a potion, but as he swung out to keep the assailant at bay, the daemon he was fighting was suddenly gone, the dagger in his good hand cutting instead through acrid smoke. 

All around him, he heard sounds of confusion from the other fighters.  Volunteers, Glaives, anybody who’d had the courage and ability to join the battle had done so, and now there was an eerie hush across the city as, Ignis assumed, daemons everywhere had weakened or vanished.  Off to his left, he heard Prompto shout in triumph.  Behind him, Gladio roared his victory and soon, a chorus of jubilant voices rang through the streets.  Ignis felt a fleeting sense of success.  One that was hard won, long fought-for and fierce in its arrival, but this success…it meant…

His blades clattered to the ground, the fight and the world forgotten.  His whole body felt numb.

“Ignis?” the voice sounded far away.

He knew…he knew this meant the world was safe.  The dawn would come.  But…

“Iggy!” Another voice, higher, farther away.

He was suddenly unsteady on his feet as his world spun and folded in on itself.  He could barely breathe.  The only thing reminding him he even had a body anymore was the strong pair of hands around his upper arms that were now the only things holding him upright.

“Gone,” he whispered, turning unseeing eyes skyward.  “He’s gone,” he repeated, and the rest of his strength left him as his legs gave out beneath him.

Gladio’s voice was uncharacteristically soft as he sighed and said simply, “Yeah.”  He was gentle as he lowered Ignis to the ground, and they both knelt, Ignis feeling sick and empty. 

He heard Prompto’s familiar footsteps approach carefully from the side and he turned away from both of them, hiding his face as the tears began.  “Noct…” his voice broke on the whispered name.  His friend.  His King.  He had only ever wanted to help him.  Save him.  If only he could have… he would gladly have given his own life… “Forgive me.”

There was nothing left in him but pain.  Desperate, untouchable pain as Gladio pulled him into a tight embrace, arms wrapped protectively around him, muffling suppressed tears of his own.  He heard Prompto kneel beside them.  Felt his shaking hand squeeze his shoulder. 

The Chosen King had fulfilled his destiny and saved them all.  But he had left them all behind as well, and Ignis wanted nothing more than to follow him. 


End file.
